I too had to watch it on tele but I knew it was going to VAR. I celebrated for 1 second before stopping fearing the worst.. On the other hand for the winner I was hoping for VAR to come to the rescue

Speaking of Tevez, Im surprised no one has mentioned the West Ham game where the Premiership did everything possible to stop them going down.

No there was no flag....they werent allowed in the ground

Oddly you mention the league cup semi at Wednesday but the quarter final replay at Sheff Utd in the same week sticks in my throat more than that. It hurts just as much as this weekend's episode.

We did. The rumours were going round that North End were winning.

Actually my £1.00 e/w on it returned me £3.25.

Having the full backs come into midfield does allow the likes of Travis to venture forward rather hold in front of the back four but likewise when we get caught in midfield it does allow the opposition to counter down the flanks more easily.

You were in the year above me then

Not if it upheld its original decision. An e-mail informing them of the decision would do.

But they get pelters for the 56 passes sideways which invites a high press from the opposition

Totally agree in what you saying and the example I gave was a case in point. What I will say there were cases in the first half where Wharton got pulled into midfield and got turned. It left a huge gap in defence which a better side than Wigan would have exploited. Having defenders who can come forward is fine if you have midfielders or full backs that are quick enough mentally and physically who can get into a covering position. Im sorry but we havent got that so this maybe the reason they are being told not to leave their stations.

Although Carter did appear on the overlap and crossed from the byline in the second half

What if that one form is the actual contract?

Shelvey sat at St James Park watching

can sign out of contract players out of the window

Fair point but both highlight how skint we were in the 80s.

Arguable. Ronnie Hildersley from a club seeking re-election to the league on a free runs it close. Although Bobby Saxton signing the opponents centre forward when he went to look at Andy Mutch is a close call.

No it wasnt, it was intended so that he could beat the full back in the air as they are generally worse in the air than centre back. Playing him wide showed up how bad his first touch could actually be. Still maintain though play him down the middle with players who have the ability to cross he will get goals. He tends to struggle when he has time to think.

Maybe thats why they need Pears out the door to create room in the sticker book.

Well Im a Riversider as I sit in the Riverside so what you trying to say?

A better example then would be Paul Warhurst. A central defender Dalglish bought to play centre midfield

Left with little or no protection with no Diaz back tracking....reminded me of the days when Armstrong was here playing wide

To be fair if strikers had taken their chances at the back end of the first half this wouldnt have happened. If Diaz is to go we need someone who can take chances.

To be honest I didn;t see much difference than any other Ayala preformance. He is slow and plays too deep. I still maintain Rovers play 10 yards further up the pitch when he does not play. I know I maybe in minority but we need to replace him.

Yes there is if the player is playing for your team. I agree Delap was physical against Rovers and at times overstepped but I suspect if it was Ayala putting Delap in his place it would be applauded as putting the CF in his pocket. Football has gone soft today and its only a matter of time before contact is banned